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Six Minutes with 2 Chainz

Days before the release of the rapper's fifth studio album, Rap or Go to the League, GQ caught up with him to discuss LeBron James, ESPN, and Netflix.

Earlier this week, I asked 2 Chainz if the title of his new album, Rap or Go to the League, was inspired in part by LeBron James. After all, the Lakers superstar has been front and center in the album’s promotional rollout, reportedly serving as its A&R and co-signing its quality via some serious head-bopping in a bunch of trailers. He is also, in case you didn’t know, in the league.

But 2 Chainz shot that question down, with a little more oomph in his response than I expected. In his defense, time was limited, and he was concurrently posing for photographs with a large hat on his head while attempting to be interviewed by me, a stranger, standing several feet away. Still: His defensiveness was peculiar, given his friendship with James, and how much he (or at least the team around him) has been promoting LeBron’s involvement.

Then I listened to Rap or Go the League. At track two (“Threat to Society”), when a sample of the gospel group The Truthettes hit, I got it. Chainz may love LeBron, but he doesn’t want to cede too much credit for his fifth studio album to anyone else, because it’s an excellent album.

Rap or Go to the League intersperses soul samples and trap beats with ease, and it has an all-star lineup of features—there’s Marsha Ambrosius’s always-welcome vocals on “Forgiven,” some quality Kendrick Lamar spazzing on “Momma I Hit a Lick,” a no-longer-beefing Ariana Grande crooning over an Amerie beat on “Rule the World,” plus Lil Wayne, E-40, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Chance the Rapper, and Kodak Black. Also: 2 Chainz himself, namely on “NCAA,” coming to a dance floor or overwhelmed car speakers near you.

In our brief time together, 2 Chainz discussed the real reason for his album title; he set the record straight on some sports gossip about LeBron supposedly sitting out of a Lakers game the day after a studio session; and he also provided a much-needed update on the sex tape he promised on his 2013 song “Netflix,” on which he raps, “Let's make a sex tape and put it on Netflix.”

Watch:

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GQ: Why the title Rap or Go to the League? Was that partially LeBron inspired, or speaking to a larger point about how lots of kids feel like those are their only two options?

2 Chainz: No, it’s not LeBron inspired. He’s just the A&R—he only came in to help me listen to some of the songs. He didn’t pick the album title, or the beats, or the features. Obviously, he’s the best player in the world, and he came in with another perspective. He has a campaign called “More Than An Athlete,” which talks about how you can do more than going to the league. So I think that part was organic; he’s a friend of mine.

So this is speaking to a larger point about how a lot of kids feel like those are the only two avenues they can pursue?

Well, a lot of African American kids. I don’t know about other groups. But I know coming from where I come from, those are some of the options, among very few options, that we’re going to get. So I’m trying to show people that there’s a wider range for people to choose from.

What made you decide that was the direction you wanted to take the album?

I think it’s time for it. It’s my fifth solo album. I think it’s time to show growth and maturation. Time to talk about something.

Did you see that some sports websites were starting up a little controversy about how LeBron was in a studio session with you on February 1 and didn’t play the next night?

Nah, it didn’t bother me at all. Especially because I know the date is false. I didn’t know y’all believed every single thing, but that’s cool.

I didn’t!

A lot of people are—a lot of people are complaining that he didn’t play because of me or something crazy. It just sounds like some trolls. Some comments and stuff that goes on the Internet now. It doesn’t even make no sense that he would love me so much that he would miss a basketball game for me.

That was also my impression, to be clear.

If anybody did the calculations on LeBron, then they should’ve found out where I was the next day. You would’ve saw that I was in Atlanta because it was Super Bowl weekend.

Changing topics: As far as features go, where does “X” from the Black Panther soundtrack rank for you as you examine your discography?

It was a successful project as a whole—the movie, the soundtrack—and the album came courtesy of Kendrick Lamar, so I appreciate him. I’m happy to be a part of anything that’s winning and successful. That’s what life is about.

Do you think Black Panther should’ve won best picture?

I didn’t watch the Oscars, but I think it should’ve won, yeah.

Did you watch Green Book?

No, I didn’t. I really enjoy ESPN.

What’s your favorite ESPN show?

SportsCenter.

To this day, huh? I feel like it’s not as popular as it used to be.

I like SportsCenter, I like First Take. I think you can learn a lot from sports analysts. I think you can learn a lot from athletes because whenever the media interviews the best player in the game, you never hear them say cocky shit. I think it’s a way to dial into being very successful and being a champion, being humble at the same time.

I need to take you back to 2013 for a minute and ask you about the song “Netflix.” You said, “Let’s make a sex tape and put it on Netflix.” You got interviewed about it shortly afterwards and said it would take a year to make the sex tape happen, then five years to put it out. So it’s 2019…

I’m married now, so that’s not going to work for me anymore.

So the sex tape is cancelled?

I met the CEO of Netflix and he told me he appreciated the song and everything. So that’s cool, full circle and everything.

He really told you that?

I swear. I just saw him in Charlotte.

You’re not in the sex tape market anymore, but do you think another celebrity should pick up the baton?

I can’t speak on other celebrities doing sex tapes. I don’t care about other people’s sexual organs. I’m more concerned with what I’ve got going on, especially when dealing with the word sex. Do we got enough pictures yet?